


Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

by lovetheblazer



Series: The Belonging Verse [2]
Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Eve, Domestic Fluff, First Christmas, M/M, Single Dad Chris, Single Parents, crisscolfer, teacher darren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 05:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5528471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovetheblazer/pseuds/lovetheblazer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Advent Prompt #24: I would really love to read more of Don't Forget Where You Belong. Single Dad!Chris and Kindergarten Teacher!Darren celebrate their first Christmas together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Day 24 of the Advent Challenge I'm doing daily through Christmas Eve. Prompts have been anonymously submitted by my followers.

“So, what are we doing for the holidays?” Darren asks over dinner Saturday night.

It's one of their rare date nights when Chris has actually sprung for a babysitter so they can try out the new Thai restaurant that just opened. Their typical date nights usually take the form of dinner at Chris's house with Annabelle and then a movie after they put her to bed. On the weekends, Darren sleeps over more often than not, frequently waking up early to watch cartoons with Annabelle and make her breakfast so Chris can sleep in or fit in a little uninterrupted writing time.

“ _We_ , huh? Isn't that a little presumptuous of you?” Chris teases. The reality is that he's been looking for an opportunity to ask Darren about his Christmas plans, but he's just not as bold as Darren. They've only been dating for a few months, after all, and Chris didn’t want to assume that Darren would necessarily be ready for the commitment of a joint holiday celebration. Plus, Chris knows how crushed Anna will be if Darren can’t be there to make Christmas cookies, hang stockings, and open presents with her, and he wants to delay the potential disappointment as long as humanly possible.

“Oh, I'm sorry. Do you already have plans?” Darren asks, looking crestfallen.

“Mainly plans for being woken up at the crack of dawn by a rambunctious kindergartener who’s anxious to see if Santa has visited her house yet. Is that something you'd willingly volunteer yourself for?”

“Of course it is, if you'll have me?” Darren says expectantly.

“I'd love nothing more. Anna will be thrilled, too,” Chris tells him.

“I love you,” Darren manages breathlessly, cheeks flushed from the sake. “ _Both_ of you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, but I still never get tired of hearing you say it.” Chris grins. “What do you say we ask for the check? We've still got a couple of hours of prime babysitter time left.”

“Oh really? And what did you have in mind for us now, then?” Darren inquires.

The smirk on Darren's face makes Chris think he probably assumes he's getting laid. And while that's definitely in the cards for later tonight, it's not what Chris was planning for the immediate future. “You know how babysitters are extremely hard to come by, especially right around the holidays? Well, Toys-R-Us is open until 10, I think, and I'm desperate to find Annabelle this special My Little Pony toy that's at the top of her Christmas wish list before they all sell out again,” Chris rambles. “Sorry, I know that's not exactly the sexy date night you had in mind.”

“Hey, there's nothing I'd rather do than spend time with you. Besides, if I'm going to be celebrating Christmas with you and Anna, I have a lot of gifts to buy, too,” Darren promises.

“Are you getting my Christmas present from Toys-R-Us now? I'd totally make a joke about how I'd prefer that my gift come from a store for adults, but I suspect that there probably _are_ some toys from there I'd actually like,” Chris admits, pretending to hang his head in shame.

“They have a whole Ninja Turtles aisle!” Darren exclaims. “It's pretty awesome.”

“Ooh, really?” Chris's eyes light up. He turns his head and signals to the waiter. “Check, please.”

* * *

“Mr Criss, you're here!” Annabelle exclaims, launching herself at his leg the second Chris opens the door. Darren drops his overnight bag to the floor of the entryway so he can hug her properly, immediately followed by greeting Chris with a kiss.

“Did you know it's Christmas Eve? That means Santa comes while we're sleeping tonight! Have you been naughty or nice? Because if you've been naughty, he puts coal in your stockings instead of toys,” Annabelle chatters on excitedly.

“I’ve been nice, I hope,” Darren chuckles. “You'd have to ask your daddy to be really sure if I've been good, though,” he jokes, taking advantage of the opportunity to tease Chris.

Chris shoots him a glare. “We've all been nice this year, I think.”

“Yay, that means we get candy and presents in our stockings! But Daddy says we can't come downstairs to see them and open presents until it's light outside. But what happens if I wake up and it's still dark outside?”

“Then you have to go back to sleep until it's light outside, A,” Chris patiently explains.

“But Daddy, sometimes it takes forever to be light outside and it's so hard to wait,” Anna pouts. “Waiting is so _boring_.”

Darren kneels down at Annabelle's eye level. “Remember the song I taught the class about waiting? If you wake up early, you can sing it to pass the time.”

“How does that song go, Mr. Criss? I forgot,” Anna asks, twirling her hair.

Darren smiles and begins to sing.

_Let's think of something to do while we're waiting  
While we're waiting for something new to do._

Anna bounces up and down while Darren sings, joining him on the the next few lines.  

_Let's try to think up a song while we're waiting  
That's liberating and will be true to you._

“I remember now! That's a good song,” Annabelle cheers. “Daddy, can we make our cookies for Santa now? Pleeeeaaaasssse?”

“Of course, angel. Go wash your hands first,” Chris directs. She takes off towards her bathroom at a sprint.

Chris turns to Darren. “The Waiting Song – is that a Darren Criss original?”

“Nah, it's from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. It's an oldie but a goodie,” Darren responds.

“I like it. I'm totally going to have to steal that song for parental use. Maybe it'll help us make it through her impatience at the grocery store or standing in line at the bank. So far I've mostly been resorting to bribery,” Chris admits, laughing.

“Hey, that works, too.” Darren shrugs. Chris smiles fondly at him. “What?” Darren asks.

“I'm just wondering what I ever did before you came along,” Chris murmurs, heart swelling with gratitude.

“I ask myself the same thing all the time about you, honey,” Darren confesses.

* * *

“Daddy, do you think that's enough cookies for Santa and Mrs. Claus and... wait, what do the reindeers eat again?” Annabelle asks, scratching her cheek. She mainly succeeds in smearing icing around her face. She's a _mess_. Her cookies are a mess. The entire kitchen is a mess. But the three of them have had a blast baking and decorating the sugar cookies and that's what really matters.

“They eat carrots, A. That's why we put them on on our special plate with the cookies, remember?” Chris reminds her. “And we definitely have enough food for all of them to eat.”

“Will they be really hungry? Because they had to fly from the North Pole which is so far away?” she inquires, eyes wide with wonder.

“Exactly,” Darren agrees. “Plus, some of the other houses they visit only leave them yucky food, I bet.”

“Like what?”

“Um, broccoli with pickles and onions and liver,” Darren suggests.

“Ew, gross!” She wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Poor Santa and Mrs. Claus.”

“Okay Anna Banana, do you know what time it is now?” Chris prompts.

“It's _not_ my bedtime,” Annabelle protests.

“No, not quite yet, but it _is_ bath time. Especially because you're covered from head to toe in frosting and sprinkles.”

“I know, it's yummy!” Anna says cheerfully, licking a smear of green frosting from her finger. “And can Mr. Criss come help while I take a bath? I want to show him how I can be a mermaid like Ariel.”

Chris exchanges a look with Darren who nods eagerly. It’s not surprising, since he's always up for helping with the mundane day-to-day routine of Annabelle's life in a way no one else Chris has dated has ever shown even a passing interest in. It's _refreshing_. “Sure, sweetheart. Let's head for the bathroom now. Just try not to touch anything on the way there, please.”

* * *

An hour later, Chris and Darren are snuggled up on either side of Annabelle in her bed, ready for the next Christmas tradition on their list. Chris opens the green leather-bound tome, one they read together each and every Christmas Eve.

“This is my favorite book of all time in the whole wide world!” Annabelle announces as Chris turns to the first page of “The Night Before Christmas.”

Chris and Darren trade off reading pages and showing the illustrations to Annabelle. She's so familiar with the poem that she able to say many of the lines along with Chris. She also takes great pride in showing the pictures to Darren and explaining them to him. It's clear that she's amused by the role reversal and opportunity to play the teacher instead of the other way around like it typically is in their kindergarten classroom.

“When out on the roof there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter,” Chris reads. Annabelle studies the illustration for a moment and then sits up expectantly, her eyes wide. She exchanges a loaded glance with Chris and then they both start giggling.

“What's so funny?” Darren asks, confused.

“You'll see!”

“...okay?” Darren's totally lost.

“Just wait for it,” Chris agrees with his giggling daughter. He starts to read the next line, obviously struggling to keep from laughing himself. “Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutter, and...” he trails off, signaling to Anna.

“And threw up the sash!” they read in unison and then collapse into a fit of hysterical laughter.

“Did someone turn on your giggle box?” Darren wonders aloud. “I feel like I'm missing something.”

“When I first started reading this story to Annabelle as a toddler, she thought 'threw up the sash' meant something else,” Chris tries to explain, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“Get it, Mr. Criss. Like threw up,” Anna adds, miming vomiting for him.

“Oh,” Darren manages, chuckling. “You are both big weirdos,” he teases.

“You're the weirdo.” Chris shakes his head. “Hey A, I know a surefire way to make Mr. Criss laugh like us. Ready? 1-2-3 – tickle fight!” They both descend on Darren, not stopping until he's giggling every bit as hard as they are.

* * *

“So, how does our Christmas Eve compare to your usual holiday activities?” Chris asks Darren two hours later. They've spent almost the entire time since they finally got Annabelle to sleep alternatively reading the inexplicably complicated assembly manuals for the Frozen Castle and new bicycle they bought her for Christmas and banging their heads against the wall (literally and metaphorically) when they couldn't figure out how to put them together. They managed it eventually, but still, it was _exhausting._

“Oh, no contest. You guys win, hands down,” Darren replies immediately.

“Really?” Chris checks, stomach fluttering appreciatively. He hadn't realized how nervous he'd been about whether Darren would enjoy their Christmas festivities until just now. The confirmation that Darren’s enjoying being there every bit as much as Chris and Annabelle are enjoying having him makes Chris feel warm from the inside out.

“Absolutely. Don't get me wrong – Christmas Eve with my parents and brother is always fun, too, but there's something about seeing the magic of the holiday season through a child's eyes that is just so special and absolutely incomparable. Thank you for sharing it with me,” Darren says reverently before leaning in for a slow, sweet kiss.

“Thank you for being here,” Chris murmurs gratefully against Darren's lips as he starts to pull away.

“What time is it?” Darren asks.

“Ouch, it's almost 2 am. That's going to suck, since Anna will probably wake us up in four hours and that’s only if we're _lucky_ ,” he winces.

“Oh, if you're too tired...” Darren trails off.

“Why? What did you have in mind?” Chris wonders.

“Well, I was just thinking maybe we could get in one last bit of naughtiness before Santa comes to visit your house,” Darren suggests, smiling wickedly.

“Eh, sleep is overrated. We can always sleep when we're dead, right?” Chris agrees easily.

“Wait hang on, I'm going to need a little prop if we're going to do this the _right_ way,” Darren grins, swiping a Santa's hat off the mantle.

“Never knew that was one of your kinks,” Chris teases with a lewd wink.

Darren gasps, pretending to be offended. “Are you saying it's _not_ one of yours? You don't want to sit on my lap and tell me what you've been a good boy all year and hand me your wish list?”

“I don't have to tell you what I've been wishing for, because you're it, baby. My wish already came true. You're what I've always hoped for, not just this year but practically since the day I adopted Annabelle,” Chris confesses, eyes getting misty. Christmas always brings out his sentimental side. Besides, it's the _truth_.

“Well, in that case, looks like we're going to have ourselves a merry little Christmas,” Darren beams, singing the last few words just like the song. “But I’ve got a very important question...”

“What's that?”

“Is it a yes or a no on the hat?” Darren inquires, holding it up for Chris's approval.

“Oh, definitely bring the hat,” Chris murmurs throatily.

“Ho ho ho,” Darren grins as he takes Chris by the hand to lead him upstairs to his bedroom. It's looking like an excellent Christmas, indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic marks the end of my 2015 Advent Fic Challenge! I owe a special thanks to my followers who submitted such fantastic and creative prompts and everyone who's been reading these fics and providing encouragement along the way. I hope you've enjoyed reading these stories. If so, I'd love it if you could take a moment to leave a comment on your favorite Advent fic or fics. Your feedback will be invaluable in helping me determine which, if any, works readers are interested in having me continue and expand into larger verses in the near future.
> 
>  [Share fic on Tumblr](http://lovetheblazer.tumblr.com/post/135896415195/have-yourself-a-merry-little-christmas)
> 
>  Read Previous Advent Fics on: [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/Advent_Fics_by_lovetheblazer) or [Tumblr](http://lovetheblazer.tumblr.com/tagged/advent-fics-by-lovetheblazer)


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